Current-regulating plug and socket



\ A. PAPINI.y

CURRENT REGULATING PLUG ANDmsockET.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1| 1919.

Pagented Mar'. 16,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

fall /4 A. PAPINI.V

CURRENT REGULATlNG FLUG AND SOCKET.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.1,.19 19.

A Ptemed Mar. 16, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOHNEYS'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTONIO IPAPINI, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO A. MECKY COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION PENN- SYLVANIA.

CURRENT-REGULATING PLUG' AND SOCKET.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1920.

Application filed December 1, 1919. Serial No. 341,758.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ANTONIO PAPINI, a subject of the King of Italy, having resided in the United States one year last past and having declared my intention of becoming a citizen thereof, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, Sta-te of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Current- Regulating Plug and Socket, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to electric regulators or rheostats for use in connection with electric circuits designed both for lighting purposes and in connection with medical batteries or other devices, including dynamos and motors, to which electrica-l current 1s supplied and caused to pass through a resistance material, which is preferably an impalpable graphite mixed with pulverized mica., but may, of course, be of other composition, so as to form a more or less elastic material which in certain types of regulators is adapted to be compressed to increase its conductivity or loosened to increase its resist-ance, in order to increase or diminish the force or strength of the current passed through it, so as to regulate the brilliancy of the light or the potency of the motor or other device to which the current is applied.

My 'present invention, relating generally to devices of the foregoing class, comprehends specifically a regulator in which there is no varying compression or control of the resistance material which is contained as a mass within the casing of the regulator, and is divided by current-conveying plates in such manner that only a predetermined area of the mass lengthwise considered is subjected to the passage of the current to control the conductivity or resistance.

My invention has further relation to and comprises a novel means for making and breaking the current through the shifting of an electric contact from contact plate to contact plate within the mass of the resistance material, the plates being spaced apart at predetermined and preferably equal vdistances and each being formed with a contact lug projecting through a slot in the casing.

Relating generally to devices of the foregoing character, my present invention comprehends special means for making and breaking the circuits of regulators of the foregoing types, and special means for mounting and operating such devices, all as illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described, the particular subject matter which I claim as novel being definitely set forth in the claims.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings a particular embodiment of it which is at present preferred by me because in practice it will give satisfactory and reliable results.

It is to be understood, however, that the various inst-rumentalities of which my invention consists can be` variously arranged and casing being shown in dotted outline.

Fig. l represents a detached sectional detail through the operating thumb key and its adjuncts; and

F ig. 5 represents a perspective view of the key plate with relation to which the key is mounted.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The body l of the casing is of quadrangular form and preferably composed of porcelain or other refractory material. It is opened at its top and closed at its bottom by a base plate 2 of similar material.

At one of its corners this body is vertically slotted as at 3, to afford an opening for corner lugs 4 which extend from a corner of eac-h one of a plurality of squared, Hat, superposed, contact plates 5 within the body, the outline of each of which conforms to that of the interior walls of the body of the casing.

6 designates lamina of the mass of resistance material between which are interposed the contact plates. This mass of resistance material fills the body down to the base plate.

The outer casing 7 which incloses the body l is of the same cubica-l configuration as that of the body, and incloses it except to the extent that its dimensions are such as to leave between its inner walls and the outer walls of the body an air space or chamber 8, into which the heat generated in the passage of the electrical current through the regulator may enter and rise to beneath a conical cover 9 Vformed with slots or openings 10 through which the heat may escape.

The casing is inturned at its bottom to form a circular shoulder 11 upon which rest foot-like projections or feet 12, extending downwardly from the walls of the body 1 of the casing, and forming between them horizontal air channels 13 through which the heated air can also escape to the atmosphere by way of an annular interspace 14 between the inner walls of a tubular base 15 of the casing and the exterior threaded face of a socket shell 16.

17 designates a central bolt which passes vertically downward through the center of a cap plate 18 superposed and fastened upon a plug shell 19 of the character usual in these devices. The bolt 17 also passes downward through a. tubular packing 2O of asbestos or other insulating material, which itself passes through central apertures in the series of contact plates and the series of lamina of resistance material. At its bottom the bolt serves to hold up a mica Washer 21 which is screwed upon it and against the under surface of the base plate 2 by a nut The mica washer performs the additional function of retaining the inwardly overlapped annular cap 23 of the socket shell 16 against the under surface of the base plate 2.

24 is a spring contact arm which terminates at its outer end in a'contact linger 25,`

and, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is in range to make contact with any one of the corner lugs 4 of the contact plates 5.

This contact arm 24 is mounted upon or springs outwardly from a segmental gear .frame 26, the same being a flat plate centrally cut out to aiord location for a toothed pinion 27 mounted upon a stud shaft 28, see Fig. 4, which passes through and is mounted within an apertured bearing 29 in the outer casing.

The teeth of this pinion 27 are in mesh with teeth 30 of a segmental outer end 31 of the gear frame 26, and in the up-and-down or swinging movement of the gear frame lupon an axis 32, the contact finger 25 is caused to make contact with the corner lug of any desired contact plate 5.

As a convenient means for mounting` the axis 32 of the gear frame 26, 1 make use of a carrying plate 33, preferably of the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which lies flat-wise against an outer wall of the body 1, and as to its lower extension which l have marked 34 in Fig. 2, is bent in the form of a bracket plate 35, which extends inwardly from the wall of the body to which said carrying plate is applied, to beneath the mica washer 21, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and is formed with a bolt hole 36 through which passes the lower end of the bolt 17.

In order to operate the contact arm 24, through the gear frame 26, by the rotary movement of the pinion 27, I provide as a convenient means for effecting -such rotary movement an operating externally disposed thumb key 37 fixed on the outwardly extending end of the stud shaft 28, and adapted, of course, in beingturned one way or the other, to correspondingly rotate the pinion.

As a convenient means for supplement- ,ing the support of the stud shaft 28, pinion 27, and key 37, l find it convenient to make use of a key plate 38, see Fig. 5, which I fasten to an outer wall of the casing 7 by screws 39, the heads 40 of which serve as stops to limit the throw in both directions of the thumb key and pinion by being so placed as to be encountered by a stop pin 41 radially projecting from a hub member 42 of the operating key 37. l

Modifications in the mode of applying and securing the thumb key end to the pinion may, of course, be resorted to. lind the foregoing contrivance both simple and effective,

43 designates bolts which extend from and through the cap plate 18, to the uppermost of the contact plates, to form 'part of the electric circuit of the device.

The operation of my regulator will be easily understood and is as follows z- Assume the contact linger 25 in the upper position represented in Figs. 1 and 2, 10 the current will pass from the plug shell 19 through the bolt connections 43 to the upper contact plate y5, then through the contact arm 24, gear frame 26, carrying plate 33, and lower extension 34 of said plate to 110 and through the socket shell 16, and through the lamp or element with which the regulator is connected and operates, and thence back to the central bolt 17.

Conducting wires which effect the connec 115 tion through the lamp and between the socket shell 16 and the bolt 17, being usual in this class of devices, are not illustrated.

Inasmuch as the increase or the diminution of the force or strength of the current which passes through the resistance material within the body of the casing, is, as is well understood, effected by the movement 0f the contact arm and its finger to close the clrcuit through a selected contact plate. the desired movement of said arm and iin ger will be effected by the turning of the thumbkey, and when a desired turn has been given to the thumb key and the coni tact finger placed in contact with the lug of a selected plate, the current from the plug shell 19 will pass through the bolts L3 down to the plate with the lugof which the contact finger is in contact and will be compelled to pass through so much ofthe resistance material as lies below said plate, and as already described will thence pass through the carrying plate 33,- its extension 34, the socket shell 16, the lamp or other device operated upon and then back to the` central bolt 17. A

-The current is, of course, diminished and the voltage lessened as the contact finger is caused to l make contact with plate after plate of the series successively disposed below the uppermost plate when the finger has passed below the bottom layer of the resistance material and the bottom plate, and made contact with the insulating base plate 2, which, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is formed with a corner lug of its own substance which extends through the corner slot 3 in the body of the casing,-the circuit is, of course, opened.

Entire control of the intensity of the light or operation of the device operatedupon, is, therefore, wholly due to the movement of the contact arm and finger, and that movement is due to the control of the contact -finger through the intervention of the connective mechanism to the thumb key.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of a current regulating plug and socket which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will be found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an electric regulating plug and socket, the combination of a body of nonconducting materiaL-a mass of resistance material within said body,-a plurality of contact plates which divide the resistance material into layers and which are formed with lugs extending outwardly through a vertical slot in the body,a pivoted contact arm pivotally mounted outside of the body and having a contact finger adapted to engage with the contact lug of any one of the Contact plates,-a gear frame,-and a thumbkey adapted to effect the movement of the contact arm and finger relatively to their common pivot.

2. In an electric regulating plug and socket, a segmental gear frame formed with a contact arm terminating in a contact finger, which frame is mounted upon the outside oi' the body, and a thumb key and connected mechanism operative upon the gear frame to eii'ect its movement about its pivot and cause the finger to make contact with any one of the contact plates.

3. In an electric regulating plug and 'adapted to engage with the contact lug of any one of the contact plates,a gear frame and a thumb key adapted to effect the movement of the contact arm and finger relatively to their common pivot.

4f. In an electric regulating plug and socket, the combination of a cubically formed body of non-conducting material open at its top and closed at its bottom and having a vertical slot through one of its corners,-a mass of resistance material within said body,-a plurality of square shaped contact plates which divide the resistance material into layers and which are formed with lugs at their corners which extend -outwardly through the slot in the body,-a pivoted contact arm pivotally mounted outside of the body and having a contact finger adapted to en age with the contact lug of any one 0% the contact plates,-a gear frame,-thumb key adapted to effect the movement of the Contact arm and finger relatively to their common pivot,-and a casing inclosing the body and ofsuch larger dimensions than said body as to afford an intermediate air space.

5. In an electric regulating plug and socket, the combination of a body of nonconducting material,-a casing encompassing the body and of sufficiently larger dimensions than said body to afford an intervening air space,-a mass of resistance material within said body,-a plurality of contact plates which divide the resistancev material into layers and which are formed with lugs extending outwardly through a vertical slot in the body,a gear frame pivoted externally to a wall of the body formed with a toothed rack and provided with a contact arm terminating in a spring finger adapted to engage the contact lug of any one of the contact plates,-a toothed pinion mounted externally of the body within the interspace between said body and its inclcsing casing, the teeth of which are in engagement with the teeth of the gear frame,-andathumbkey exterior of the casing and connected with the pinion,- whereby upon the turn of the key in one or the other direction the gear frame is swung about its pivot and the Contact finger moved to the Contact lug of any determined contact plate.

6. In an electric regulating plug and socket, the combination of a body of nonducting material,-a casing encompassing the body and of suliiciently larger dimensions than said body' to afford an intervening air space,a mass of resistance material within said body,a plurality of contact plates which divide the resistance material into layers and which are formed with lugs extending outwardly through a vertical slot in the body,-a gear frame pivoted externally to a wall of the body, formed with a toothed rack and provided with a Contact arm terminating in a spring finger adapted to engage t e one of the contact pla es,-a toothed pinion mounted externally of the body within the interspace between said body and its inclosing casing, the teeth of which are in engagement with the teeth of the gear frame-and a thumb key exteriorly of the casing and connected with the pinion,- ineans for controlling the turning movement of the thumb key,-whereby upon the turn of the key in one or the other direction the gear frame is swung about its pivot and the Contact finger moved to the contact lug of any determined contact plate.

ANTONIO PAPINI. Witnesses JOHN A. l/VIEDERSHEIMs N. BUSSINGER.

contact lug of any. 

